Key Findings
• Nine cluster submunitions casualties are confirmed and dozens unconfirmed. The total number of cluster submunitions casual-ties are unknown due to inadequate data col-lection.
• NATO and internal factions used cluster munitions.
Use Background and Contamination NATO and internal factions used cluster munitions during the conflict from 1992 to 1995.
Some examples of use include: Orkan M-87 multiple rocket launcher firing on the town of Livno and airplanes from a Krajina Serb-held area in Croatia bombing the UN safe area of Bihaç with cluster munitions.135Bosnian Serbs struck a refugee camp south of Tuzla with clus-ter munitions. Bosnian Serbs claimed that NATO strikes also hit civilian targets in Banja Luka.136 The Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center (BHMAC) data does not confirm alleged casual-ties from these strikes.137
Data Collection
Incomplete nationwide casualty data is collected by BHMAC. Additionally, due to the unification and verification of all operator data-bases, detailed information on landmine/ERW
casualties was not made available. The BHMAC database contains records on casualties occur-ring duoccur-ring and after the conflict, but it is not known whether submunitions are differentiated from other devices.138
Casualties and Analysis
The total number of submunitions casual-ties in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not known, as available data is very limited. There have been nine confirmed casualties between 1992-2006, including seven killed and two injured.
The cluster munitions strike on a refugee camp south of Tuzla killed seven and dozens more were reportedly injured. BHMAC identi-fied only two deminers injured in separate acci-dents with KB-1 cluster submunitions in 2002:
one in Vogos´ca and one in Gornji Vakuf.
According to BHMAC, both accidents were caused by breach of procedure.139
CROATIA
Key Findings
• Cluster munitions were used on several occa-sions by forces of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) and KB-1 submunitions caused all reported casualties.
• There are 277 confirmed cluster submuni-tions casualties, including 258 killed, 17 injured, and two unknown – two strikes on Zagreb accounted for 243 of these.
Use Background and Contamination Cluster munitions were used on several occasions by forces of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) between 1991 and 1995, most notably on 2 and 3 May 1995 when Orkan M-87 multiple rocket launchers were used to hit civilian targets in Zagreb, which caused the majority of reported casual-ties.140
Data Collection
The Croatian Mine Action Center (CRO-MAC) and Croatian Mine Victims Association (CMVA) conduct nearly complete nationwide data collection since 1991 and 1990 respective-ly. However, only 50 percent of the CROMAC casualties registered have complete details.141 Casualties from cluster submunitions are differ-entiated from casualties caused by other devices, but the total number of cluster submu-nitions casualties is unknown since few conflict casualties were recorded.
Casualties and Analysis
Between 1993 and July 2005, 277 cluster submunitions casualties have been confirmed,
including 258 killed, 17 injured, and two whose status was unrecorded. The May 1995 strikes on Zagreb accounted for 243 (88 percent) of reported casualties: including seven people killed and 236 injured in the two-day period, five were killed and 186 injured the first day, two killed and 50 injured the second.142
Analysis of limited CROMAC data for 34 cluster submunitions casualties, including 10 killed, 22 injured and two unknown, shows that 97 percent were civilians. Males accounted for 82 percent of all casualties. Boys account for 43 percent of the male casualties and the highest risk activity for boys was playing (29 percent).
CROMAC recorded two men and a woman injured during strikes on 1 January and 1 September 1993, in Zaton and Gospic, respec-tively.
From 1 January to 14 July 1993, there were 12 male casualties from 11 post-strike incidents, including five killed and seven injured in Zadar, Muc, Sibenik and Sukosan. In 1994, one six-year-old boy was killed. In 1995, there were nine casualties from four incidents: one man was killed and eight people were injured, including a woman, a girl, three boys, and three men.
The remaining nine casualties (three killed, four injured, and two unknown) occurred in the post-conflict period between 1996 and 2005. One deminer was killed clearing submu-nitions at a hospital in Zagreb. On average about 1.5 people were involved per incident.
KB-1 submunitions have caused all known casu-alties reported by CROMAC.143
Life Experience
Ivan Mikulcic was 56 years old when the village of Pleso, some 500 metres from the Zagreb airport, was shelled with cluster munitions: “On that day, the 2nd of May, 1995, I was at my home at Pleso... On that morning at around 10.00, shelling started, and an unexploded cluster bomb of the Orkan type landed in my yard about 8 metres away from me… Some of the bomblets of the bomb remained unex-ploded, but there was one that exploded some 4 metres behind my back, injuring me and damaging my home.... At that point, I was on my way to the shelter and I only managed to get hold of the doorknob when I felt this very sharp pain in my back.
And to this day I’ve been carrying three pieces of shrapnel in my back… the physi-cian… told me that they were thus placed that they would cause more damage by taking them out than by leaving them there.” 144
KOSOVO
145Key Findings
• Cluster munitions used by NATO.
• At least 164 casualties of cluster submuni-tions recorded in Kosovo; the majority were children.
• Sixty percent of cluster submunitions inci-dents involved two or more people.
Use Background and Contamination The vast majority of cluster munitions con-tamination in Kosovo is the result of use by NATO forces against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during ‘Operation Allied Force’ from March to June 1999. The United States and the Netherlands used CBU-87 cluster munitions each containing 202 BLU-97 combined effects submunitions. Some CBU-99 and CBU-100 munitions were also used. The United Kingdom used about 500 RBL755 munitions, each con-taining 147 dual-purpose antivehicle and antipersonnel blast and fragmentation submu-nitions.146
In 1999, NATO informed the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC) that 1,392 cluster munitions containing 289,536 submunitions were targeted at 333 strike locations in Kosovo.147 However, research suggests NATO forces dropped more than 2,000 cluster muni-tions containing approximately 380,000 sub-munitions.148 The credibility of the strike data NATO provided some ten months after the end of the conflict seemed questionable due to
“glaring inaccuracies,”149 and the problem appears to be wider than initially reported.150
Confirmed Casualties: 1999 – 2005 Total Strike Post-
Post-Strike Conflict
Grand Total 164 N/A 147 15
Injured 103 96 7
Killed 59 51 8
Unknown Status 2 unknown
Man 50 39 11
Woman 3 3 0
Boy 83 81 2
Girl 1 1 0
Military 7 7 0
Deminer 15 13 2
Unknown 5 unknown 3 unknown
Dominant By-standing/passing by (40) Activities
Dominant Dakovica (29)
Location
In 2001, failure rates of BLU-97 submuni-tions were estimated at some seven percent, and RBL755 submunitions at about 11 per-cent.151 The manufacturer assessed the failure rate of RBL755 submunitions at five percent.152 At a failure rate of five percent, about 14,500 to 19,000 submunitions would have remained unexploded.
Clearance data indicates that at least 18,318 cluster submunitions have been destroyed in the period June 1999-2005,153and the MACC has estimated that more than 20,000 unexploded submunitions remained after the war.154 All known strike areas were cleared to international standards by 2002.155 However, UNMIK continued to find submunitions in areas not considered affected in 1999-2001 and by the end of 2005, 12 areas contaminated with sub-munitions still required clearance.156This seems to suggest either that the failure rate of the sub-munitions was higher than the official esti-mates or that more submunitions were used, considering that the submunitions cleared by KFOR EOD units and those destroyed by Yugoslav forces during the conflict are not included in these totals.157The unexploded sub-munitions were in a highly sensitive state, and could explode as a result of being moved or picked up.158
It has been alleged that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Air Force used BL755 cluster munitions in the Kosovo conflict but numbers used are not known.159
Data Collection
Between 1999 and 2001, the ICRC was the lead agency for data collection on mine/ERW incidents and collected the vast majority of the cluster submunitions casualty data stored by the MACC in the IMSMA system. The MACC and partners analyzed and verified data for 1999-2001, and included a comprehensive casualty and incident recording system that allowed data to be overlaid on maps depicting geo-graphic features and contaminated areas.160
Since 2002, the Institute of Public Health (IPH) within the Ministry of Health, Environment and Spatial Planning has been responsible for investigating and recording all incidents involv-ing mines, submunitions and ERW in Kosovo and shares data with the UNMIK Office of the Kosovo Protection Corps Coordinator (OKPCC) EOD Management Section.161However, the orig-inal MACC records could not be accessed after transfer to the IPH,162 and maintenance of the database was a concern.163 As a result, only basic total figures from the period based on UNMIK MACC monthly summaries are available.
The original data appears to have contained information on name, status, place, age, gen-der, activity, marking, contact information, and often a brief note regarding the incident. The database also contained some records of peo-ple involved in an incident who escaped injury.
Casualties and Analysis164
The casualty data possessed by OKPCC EOD shows 164 civilian casualties of cluster submunitions in Kosovo from June 1999 to 2006. The total casualties are likely to be signif-icantly higher, as the number of casualties dur-ing strikes is not known and casualty data might have been lost. Military, deminers and some civilian clearance casualties are probably not included in these totals.165
As the conflict ended, cluster submuni-tions caused “considerable casualties amongst the rapidly returning civilian population”166and at least 45 people were killed and 106 injured between 1999 and 2001. Incidents “generally involved groups of younger people, often with very tragic results.”167Analysis of data from the first months after the strikes corroborates this:
81 casualties were boys under 18, compared to 62 adults. Only four female casualties of cluster submunitions were recorded in the post-strike period, three of them adults in a single civilian clearance accident. It seems likely that cluster submunitions incidents were unreported during the emergency post-strike phase, 1999-2001, due to data collection challenges and imprecise attribution of devices responsible. For example, among the 54 casualties of unknown devices from June 1999 to November 2000, one incident stands out as having similar characteristics to many submunition incidents: an incident in April 2000 injured four boys aged 10 to 14 and two women in their early 20s in their home when one of the boys brought back an object from the field looking “like a tin of Coca Cola” – a description often used for BLU-97 submuni-tions.168
All of the 10 casualties recorded in the post-conflict period from 2002 to 2006 were males.
The average age of all known civilian clus-ter submunitions casualties in Kosovo is 19.
Individual cluster submunitions incidents are often responsible for causing multiple civilian casualties. Over 60 percent of all submunitions incidents resulted in two or more casualties, the average casualty rate per incident being 2.7.
At 25 percent, the most common activity at the time of the incident was passing or standing nearby (40 people). Other activities include, tampering 16 percent (25), tending animals 14
percent (23), and playing and recreation nine percent (14); other/unknown accounted for 14 percent (23).
Cluster munitions casualties have been recorded in 20 municipalities, with most casual-ties recorded in Dakovica (29). Five other municipalities recorded over 10 casualties each: Kosovska Mitrovica (14), Urosevac (13) Kacanik (15), Podujevo (12) and Prizren (12).
Comparison with Post-Conflict Casualties Attributed to Mines and ERW
Cluster submunitions were responsible for 31 percent of total recorded casualties between 1999-2005, while mines caused 52, other ERW 16 percent and one percent was unknown.
However, submunitions were responsible for 49 percent of deaths, compared to 34 percent from mines and 17 percent by other ERW. Between June 1999 and May 2001, cluster submunitions caused 84 percent of total ERW casualties.169In the period from 2002 to 2006, this declined to 14 percent of ERW casualties due to clearance efforts.
Conflict/Post-Conflict
All confirmed casualties reported in the original MACC database occurred as a result of unexploded munitions after NATO bombing between March and June 1999.170 Seven inci-dents of NATO cluster bomb strikes resulting in civilian casualties in the (former) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, have been substantiated, and an additional five pos-sible incidents are unconfirmed. It is believed that 90 to 150 civilians have been killed during cluster munitions strikes.171 Human Rights Watch (HRW) identified at least 12 people killed and a further 50 injured during NATO cluster munitions strikes in Kosovo. However, many of the incidents were not independently verified.172 Therefore, they are not included in the casualty statistics of this study. Seven casualties from a tampering incident with an unexploded submu-nition during the conflict period have been included in the post-strike data. All casualties were boys from the same family aged two to 16:
five were killed and two injured.173
Civilian/Military Comparison
A total of 22 casualties were likely to have been involved in clearance activities or were military personnel, accounting for 13 percent of casualties. Some accidents include clearance by former KLA and foreign peacekeepers.174Two British KFOR soldiers were killed while clearing submunitions.175 Former KLA soldiers were
reportedly assisting at the time; three were also killed and another two were injured.176 No Yugoslav/Serb forces have been identified as casualties of submunition contamination in Kosovo. The majority of incidents involving clearance/EOD and the military occurred between June and September 1999.
Life Experience177
In August, 1999, about three months after the NATO cluster munition strikes, Adnan’s family went to swim in a small lake a few kilometers from their village. At the time, Adnan was almost seven years old. On the bank of the lake Adnan found a yellow metal can. He did not know that the object was an unexploded BLU-97 cluster submunition. Adnan brought the object back to his family.
Adnan’s older brother, Gazmend (17 years old) was holding the submunition when it fell to the ground and exploded. The explosion killed both Gazmend and their father. Adnan sustained injuries to his left arm and leg and was taken to the closest hospital.
Adnan’s sister, Sanije (14) later returned to the site to collect family belongings, which had been left behind. While at the site, Sanije stepped on a cluster munition and was killed.
Adnan received medical care for two months after the incident. He had lost a lot of blood and suffered from anemia. Due to the injuries to Adnan’s left arm he is unable to lift heavy objects. Adnan could not return to school until late January 2000. By the age of 13, Adnan had lost interest in school, his grades were
suffer-© Robin Collins
ing and he was expected to drop out alto-gether.
Adnan’s older sister, Ymrije, cares for both Adnan and their mother, who was severe-ly traumatized. The famisevere-ly of three now live on a pension of just 62 euro a month.
MONTENEGRO
Key Findings
• Cluster munitions used by NATO.
• At least one civilian was killed and another three injured by cluster submunitions.
Use Background and Contamination NATO forces used cluster munitions against targets of the (former) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1999 Kosovo conflict.
On 28 April 1999, NATO planes struck the Golubovci military airport south of Podgorica in Montenegro with cluster munitions.178
Data Collection
There is no comprehensive data on ERW casualties in Montenegro.179
Casualties and Analysis
The strike on the Golubovci airport in Montenegro caused four civilian casualties, one killed and at least three injured.180A 61-year-old woman was killed in a village near the airport as a submunition hit her head as she was running from the village.181
No post-conflict casualties are known.
SERBIA
Key Findings
• Cluster munitions used by NATO and possi-bly by Yugoslav forces.
• Total number of cluster submunitions casual-ties is unknown, 45 casualcasual-ties were record-ed, including 15 killed and 30 injurrecord-ed, most resulting from the NATO strike on the city of Nis.
Use Background and Contamination NATO used cluster munitions in Serbia during the military intervention in 1999.
Submunitions used during the NATO air cam-paign in Yugoslavia from March to June 1999 include: RBL755, BLU-97 and Mk 118 Rockeye.182 Yugoslav factions used KB-1, and KB-2,183but it is unknown if these are contaminating Serbian territory. In early 2006, six main areas of Serbia remained contaminated with cluster submuni-tions: Nis, Kraljevo, Kursumlija, Sjenica, Mount Kopaonik and Vladimirci.184
Data Collection
Casualty data collection and registration of landmine/ERW survivors in Serbia is not comprehensive.185 Press reports and ICRC records provide very limited information regard-ing strike, post-strike and post-conflict casual-ties.
Casualties and Analysis
The total number of submunitions casual-ties in Serbia is not known and casualty statis-tics from the Serbian Mine Action Center were not made available.
Between 1999 and August 2005, 45 casu-alties have been reported, including 15 killed and 30 injured, two of which were clearance personnel. All but three casualties occurred during the NATO strike on an airfield in the city of Nis on 7 May 1999, which also hit the nearby hospital and residential areas; the strike killed 14 and injured 28.186 On 9 October 2000, an Army pyro-technician was seriously injured while defuzing six submunitions, losing both legs and hands, and his sight and hearing were permanently impaired.187A deminer was injured while clearing submunitions from a factory in Nis in August 2005.188
The ICRC recorded six civilian casualties from unexploded submunitions in Serbia and Montenegro between 1999 and 2002.189 However, insufficient information is available to verify if these are included in the statistics above.
Life Experience
“Vladimir Jovanovic, a 72-year-old Serb, was injured in the 1999 cluster bomb attack on his home city of Nis, Serbia. He died on April 4, 2000, some eleven months later, while working in his yard with a shovel, an unexploded cluster bomblet from the same attack took his life.”190
© Robin Collins
The Russian Federation has made exten-sive use of cluster munitions in Chechnya and, to a lesser extent, in Tajikistan. Allegedly, Tajik and Chechen factions have used cluster muni-tions as well. In Chechnya, civilian targets were often deliberately hit, but the full scope of the problem is unknown due to a lack of informa-tion.